Leaving
1235 Words
After a long time, his smile appeared again and he nodded his head softly, “Okay, my princess.”
Hearing this, Adela let out a breath of relief and closed her eyes.
Together, they walked back to the cottage where both Madeline and Daniel were waiting.
“What did you guys talk about?” Madeline asked Adela when she saw the two of them come back.
As a response, Adela grabbed onto Madeline’s hands and smiled, “Grandma Madeline, I don’t know how I can repay you for your kindness. You saved my life and kindly let me stay in your house for all these days.”
Madeline blinked a few times, not knowing what was going on. Why did Adela suddenly have to thank her?
“I. . . You child, you don’t have to thank me.” Madeline gently patted Adela’s hand, “I am really happy with you here! We have lived alone for so long, me and that old man, and suddenly a young soul joins us!”
Adela became even more reluctant to let go upon seeing Madeline’s smile and happiness about her joining them, but she had to do it. She could not stay here forever.
And, she had finally convinced Cason to agree to marry her. . . She couldn’t give up the position of Princess of the Calixtine Empire.
“Grandma Madeline, thank you for treating me so well during these past weeks. However, I. . . I have to go.”
Madeline’s eyes widened and so did Daniel, who was standing a few feet behind her.
“You’re leaving?! What? When?” It has been so long since the last mention of Adela leaving that Madeline had almost forgotten that she was just a guest. She had almost thought that Adela was here to stay forever.
The four of them stood in silence for a long time before Madeline finally smiled and patted Adela on the hand again, “Are you leaving together with Cason?”
Adela nodded her head.
“Then this won’t be enough. I’ll go get more food and water for you two.” Madeline then disappeared into the cottage again, closing the door behind her.
Although she was trying to suppress it, the three of them all heard her muffled crying sounds from inside the cottage.
Adela pressed her lips together as she closed her eyes to stop herself from getting teary as well. After all, in these few weeks she has built a bond with the old couple.
Besides her parents, they had treated her the most genuinely. . . Maybe it was because they didn’t treat her as royalty like others did, but Adela could feel the sincerity.
Several minutes later, Madeline came back out with what looked like a knapsack and gave it to Cason. She didn’t know why Adela was leaving with Cason, but she wasn’t going to ask either.
“There is enough water and food in here to last you two for a few days.”
Cason grinned, “Don’t worry, grandma Madeline. We won’t be outside for too long.”
Adela looked over at him and took a deep breath. She didn’t know how far away the Calixtine Empire palace was from here, but if Cason Thorn was able to run from the hunting grounds all the way to here, then it shouldn’t be very far.
“Oh Adela. . .” Madeline pulled Adela aside, further away from Cason and Daniel. She then lowered her voice and whispered, “Where are you going?”
Adela smiled, “Don’t worry about me, grandma Madeline. I have decided to leave with Cason. I can’t stay here and bother you and grandpa Daniel forever.”
‘But I want you to bother me forever. . .’ Madeline wasn’t able to say out loud. She smiled and gently brushed her fingers down Adela’s hair. After being childless for her entire life, it would be very hard for her to let go of Adela.
‘Tis better to have never had, than to have had and lost.
Adela hugged Madeline tightly and also went over to hug Daniel before she finally left with Cason. If they didn’t leave now, they wouldn’t be able to arrive at the palace before dusk.
Before leaving, Adela promised to herself that she would repay Madeline and Daniel’s kindness. They had saved her and given her a new life after her “death”. . . In the future, if everything went as planned, she would definitely come back!
Cason and Adela entered the woods where Adela had found him a day ago.
They reached the pile of wood and continued going further and further into the endless forest.
“Do you know where we are going?” Adela asked with a frown, “How long did it take you to run from where you were hunting to the cottage?”
Cason grinned, “Don’t worry, I made marks while running. We should be able to find our way back. Trust me.”
He said the last two words very romantically, and Adela knit her eyebrows together slightly as she took a step away from him.
“This forest connects the Baldamia Empire with the Calixtine Empire, and I was hunting in this same forest that day. It shouldn’t take too long. . . It took a while because I tried to hide in some places while they were chasing me. We should be back before dinnertime.”
Adela pressed her lips together and they continued to walk. The weather was kind of hot and she began to sweat as they continued to walk, her pace slowing down.
Cason also walked a little slower to match her pace, although he wasn’t sweating or panting for air like she was. Weirdly enough, he was the one carrying the sack filled with stuff while Adela wasn’t holding onto anything.
He looked back at Adela with a hint of a smile and reached his empty hand out, grabbing onto Adela’s left hand.
Right after their fingers touched, he looked forward again, pretending not to notice Adela’s surprised stare. He grabbed onto her hand as they walked, making it a little easier for Adela.
Slowly, his hands also became wet with sweat from Adela and her pace was getting slower and slower, “Do you want to take a break?”
Adela nodded. As a princess, she stayed in the palace most of the time. Never in her life did she have to walk by foot for over a mile. Why would she walk when there was a carriage?
They found a rock and Cason let Adela sit on it, himself standing up to block the sunlight.
“You’re quite romantic, aren’t you?” Adela noticed, “How many sweethearts have you had before?”
Cason smiled, lifting one leg up onto the rock and leaning forward, drawing in the distance between their bodies, “You are my first and only.”
- Writer
